


Working It Out

by LadyPaigeC



Series: Tumblr Prompts [8]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, First Kiss, Married Couple, Miscommunication, Post-Regeneration (Doctor Who), Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 19:57:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18505999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyPaigeC/pseuds/LadyPaigeC
Summary: Rose is reeling over the Doctor's regeneration and the loss of their bond. Can he figure out what's wrong before everything goes pear-shaped?





	Working It Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SunnieBelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunnieBelle/gifts).



> For the prompts: "first kiss" and "open your eyes"

Rose, Jackie, Mickey, and the Doctor tumbled out the door into the crisp night air. Rose looked up at the gently falling white flakes and laughed at Mickey as he tried to make a snowball. “Oh, it’s beautiful. What are they, meteors?”

The Doctor felt the dampened buzz of his bondmate’s joy on the outer edge of his mind. He looked over at her and catching her eye gave her a crooked grin. 

She blushed and looked down at the ground. The joy he’d felt from her only a moment ago lessened and became tinged with nervousness. 

A knot settled in his stomach as worry over her reaction to his new form began to grow. _Maybe she doesn’t want to be with me anymore. Maybe regeneration is too much for her to accept. She’s only human, and it’s a lot for anyone to accept. I thought she’d...she promised me-_ He looked away from her and up at the streaks shooting across the sky. “It’s the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere. This isn’t snow, it’s ash.”

“Okay, not so beautiful.” Rose moved a hairsbreadth closer to her... _He’s still my husband, right?_ She darted a glance at the Doctor. _That wouldn’t change just because he did. Would it? He said he was still my Doctor, and when he held my hand I could sorta feel him and the bond again._ Rose chewed on her lower lip. _Wish I could still feel what he’s thinking._

She eyed his hands and just as she reached for him, the Doctor stuffed them into his pockets. “This is a brand new planet Earth. No denying the existence of aliens now. Everyone saw it.” He turned to her and said pointedly, “Everything’s new.”

She nodded and wrung her hands. “Yeah, it is. What-” Her voice hoarsened and she tried again. “What are...you gonna do next?”

He looked at her keenly. “Well, back to the TARDIS. Same old life.”

“On your own?”

“Why?” He rasped. He tried to overcome the panic that threatened to drown him. _What if she turns me down again? I can’t lose her._ “Don’t you want to come?”

She looked at him as if he’d regenerated with two heads. “Well, yeah.”

“Do you though?”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Yeah!”

The Doctor blew out the breath he was holding. “I just thought, because I changed…”

“Yeah, I thought because you changed...you might not want me anymore.”

“No! I’ll always want you, Rose. You’re my...the keeper of my hearts. My bondmate.”

“But I can’t feel our bond anymore. It broke when you regenerated.”

“Oh, Rose.” He opened his arms and she fell into his embrace. He kissed her crown. “I’m so sorry. It’s muted for me, but I thought...you were just mad and blocking me.”

She shook her head against his shoulder and mumbled, “Never. Love you.”

“I’m so sorry. I should have realized.”

She sniffed and looked up at him. “Can you fix it?”

He glanced at her lips. “Oh, yes.” He leaned in and kissed her for the first time with his new lips. Cradling her head in his hand, he brushed his fingers over her temple and their bond snapped back into place. They both sighed with the pleasure it brought. Rose deepened the kiss and the Doctor picked her up and spun her around.

“Oi! Watch it!” Jackie complained when he almost hit her with Rose’s legs.

Giggling he pulled out of their snog and placed her back down on the ground. 

Rose’s eyes stayed closed as she licked her lips. _Mmm. Still tastes the same._

“Rose, darling, open your eyes.”

She fell into the warm brown of his new eyes, darker at the center with lighter bits of hazel around the edges, already becoming so beloved. 

His lips pulled into a smirk. _Still got it._

She rolled her eyes. _Git._

His grin widened. “But yours.”

“Always.”

“I love you, Rose Tyler.”

Rose leaned into him ready to resume their snog, when Mickey interrupted. “You’re never going to stay, are you?”

She turned to her oldest friend. “There’s just so much out there. So much to see. And my place is with the Doctor now.”

“Yeah.”

Jackie hugged herself and shook her head. “Well, I reckon you’re mad. The pair of you. It’s like you go lookin’ for trouble.”

“Trouble’s just the bits in-between.” He bounded over to his mother-in-law. “It’s all waiting out there, Jackie.” He rested his hand on her shoulder. “And it’s brand new to me. All those planets...creatures and horizons. I haven’t seen them yet. Not with these eyes.”

The Doctor noticed the soft smile settled on Rose’s lips and knew it was because of his easy rapport with her mother. He startled to realize that the unease of being around Jackie that he could never quite shake in his last body was completely gone - replaced by a feeling of quiet affection. He tamped down on that thought before Rose could pick up on it, but by the way she bit back a laugh he didn’t think he had quite managed it in time. Sighing he walked over to his wife, but her happiness fluttering through the bond was contagious. He looked down at her with a soft smile of his own. “And it’s going to be...fantastic.”

Love pulsed through their bond overwhelming him. He needed his anchor and so he held out his hand to Rose.

“That hand of yours still gives me the creeps.”

He wiggled his fingers and winked cheekily. She took his hand and pressed against his side. 

“So, where’re we gonna go first?”

He pointed to a star system he’d been meaning to visit with Rose. “Er, that way. No, hold on.” He pointed out a new destination. “That way.” _Much better idea._

“That way?” She tried to find the same planet the Doctor had. _That one right there?_

He hummed in the back of his throat. _Barcelona. Second honeymoon. Get re-acquainted with my bondmate. Learn what this body likes._

“Yeah? That way sounds good.” She sent a bolt of arousal through the bond.

He squeaked and dragged her toward the TARDIS.

“Oi! Ain’t ya even gonna say goodbye?”

“Bye, Jackie! Mickey!”

Rose laughed. “See you in two weeks, Mum.”

Jackie rolled her eyes, as the door slammed and muted Rose’s giggling.


End file.
